If you want to see the album of our pictures from June 2018, you can click on this link, June 2018.

If you want to see the album of our pictures from July 2018, you can click on this link, July 2018.

le lundi 6 août 2018 – Monday August 6, 2018

Today was the first day of the two-day Intra-Muros braderie. Many individuals had already spread out their blankets, towels, etc to display their items for sale. Sandy just quickly glanced at them as she bought our breakfast.

On her way to the boulangerie she dropped off our recycling at the “center.” There are several “centers” around town both inside and outside the walled city. Today a man was standing in front of the garbage machine with his garbage bag in his hand. He looked at Sandy and appeared to need help. She was not sure what language he was speaking. She pushed the open button, pulled open the door, the man threw his garbage inside, Sandy shut the door and pushed the compact button. The man said “okay, okay, merci” and they were both on their way. Since the written directions on the garbage machine are in English and French, he apparently did not read either language.

After breakfast we browsed through the many tables of goods for sale. This is a huge sidewalk sale where the majority of main street are full of goods for sale from individuals and the local businesses.

Intra-Muros braderie at the Place de la POISSONNERIE

We looked at many things but only made a purchase from the Bessec shoe store. Phil has had good luck shopping there the past two years. This year he needed better sandals to walk to the beach. He found a pair of Birkenstock sandals that are made of rubber. They had two bands across the foot and no backs. Perfect for wearing to the beach and easy to put back on after walking in the water.

After lunch we walked to the beach to go wading. There were so many people! The water had warmed up to 20C, 69F and felt wonderful! We walked a different route than usual to avoid the sidewalk sales and the main esplanade Saint-Vincent, where we catch the bus looked like a circus! Great for the local businesses.

a lot of people on the beach today

le mardi 7 août 2018 – Tuesday July 31, 2018

When Sandy walked to buy our breakfast the streets were fairly quiet. She only noticed one individual setting up her sidewalk sale next to the boulangerie. However, after buying fruit at our marché then shopping for non-perishables at Intermarché grocery store at 10h00 the streets were again crowded.

On the way back from the Intermarché we saw a Republique Française emblem on a building across from the park in Rocabey. This is the third one we have seen. We don’t have any idea why they are on certain buildings.

Republique Française emblem, we have seen 3 of these in town, not sure why they are on display

Apparently Saint-Malo is one of a few spots in Europe or at least France that hasn’t been seriously affected by the heat wave. Our predicted high temperature of 22C, 72F is much better than the predicted high of 37C, 98.6F, in Paris. Since we are less than a 2 1/2 hour train ride this is one of the closest places to get some relief from the heat and enjoy the sea and beach. Let’s hope our luck with temperatures continues through the remainder of August.

Around lunchtime we heard thunder, the skies darkened, and it rained off and on for about an hour and a half. Good! The streets need a wash and the flowers need a drink.

le mercredi 8 août 2018 – Wednesday August 8, 2018

Sandy dropped off recycling on her way to the boulangerie. She thought the streets, sidewalks, and air smelled fresher than yesterday after the rain. The flowers in the Place du Legume aux Marché looked revived. The streets were calm.

Very early in the morning, before sunrise, a large sailing ship arrived in the harbor. It was the Sea Cloud II. It left late that same evening.

the Sea Cloud II sailing ship

Today Sandy spent two hours tutoring with Christine and Phil did a little shopping at E.Leclerc Supermarché. On Sandy’s way from Christine’s house to the bus stop (about a 10 min. walk) a lady driving by pulled over and asked Sandy where the market was in Paramé. Sandy was able to give her simple directions, in French, that were almost correct. Big improvement in Français!

saw a dog in a window while walking through Paramé to Christine’s house

Alain and his wife came to our apartment for an aperitif. They brought a gift as is normal in France when invited to someone’s house. It was a nice visit and we discovered that he and his wife do not eat crackers, pretzels, or cashews. Good to know for the future.

le jeudi 9 août 2018 – Thursday August 9, 2018

Sandy shopped at Maison du Pain for our breakfast because it was raining when she woke up. The rain was predicted to come later in the morning, but arrived earlier. It was just a light mist, common for Saint-Malo. As the shop is only 80 steps from our front door it is close enough to avoid needing an umbrella.

It rained off and on until almost 15h00. The sun came out of the clouds and we were on the #8 bus to the Kennedy stop across from the north end of the Digue. Sandy wore a jacket, sneakers and socks since it was only 18C, 65F. We walked towards Intra-Muros straight into the wind. It was so strong that Sandy had to brace herself as she walked to avoid being knocked down. We felt completely wind-blown by the time we returned home. An invigorating walk for sure!

a few waves in the water today

three young gulls taking a nap on the beachr

le vendredi 10 août 2018 – Friday August 10, 2018

The temperature had fallen after the rain yesterday and Sandy again wore a jacket to the boulangerie. She took our garbage, glassware, and recycling bag of plastics, paper, and cans to the recycling center. However, it was completely overflowing and she had to leave all of our items outside the depository on the sidewalk, as other people had already left their refuse. What a mess!

Around 11 am we took a bus to the Rocabey stop, went into Intermarche for butter and stopped in the pharmacy for eye drops.

we saw a magpie (pie in french) in the park by Rocabey on the way to the Intermarché

We walked home, and while it was windy, it wasn’t as strong as yesterday. The high temperature for today was 21C, 70F. Great walking weather.

it was still windy and the gulls were gliding around

le samedi 11 août 2018 – Saturday August 11, 2018

One of the younger assistants helped Sandy at the boulangerie. She told Sandy that her order was “ une chanson dans ma tête”, like a song in her head. Two croissants and a baguette Festival. Funny how our language sounds to other people, especially in French.

We took a bus to the Paramé Mairie stop to look at the marché. When we were there for tutoring on Wednesday there were so many vendors that their stands were almost encroaching into the street. Big surprise on Saturday! They went someplace else. There were only 4 or 5 stands on Saturday, so nothing interesting to look at. We walked 6 blocks to the Digue and enjoyed a leisurely walk home. According to our “steps” counter in a health app, it was about a 3 mile walk.

In the afternoon we spent some time at the harbor watching boats come and go. The tide was on it’s way in. It was surprising to see how fast all of the anchored boats went from sitting on mud to floating in water.

the Commodore Goodwill, a cargo ship, always comes into port on Saturday

after the Commodore Goodwill left the harbor, the Condor Ferries ship came into the harbor

le dimanche 12 août 2018 – Sunday August 12, 2018

It was very quiet when Sandy walked to the boulangerie. This is a day of Grande Marée, exceptionally high tide with a co-efficient of 109. It was very cloudy with rain in the forecast in the morning. Strong winds could make the tide dramatic and disruptive.

Well the tide was high, but there was very little wind, so the waves were minimal.

Monday September 18, 2017 – le lundi 18 septembre 2017

It was quite cool when Sandy bought our breakfast. The temperature was 9C / 49F. The boulangère at La Fournée Malouine reminded Sandy that she will be closed tomorrow on Tuesday, so with a quick <<À mercredi.>> (See you on Wednesday), she was on her way home with our croissants.

We expected a package to be delivered before noon, so after it arrived at 11h00 we were on the bus at 11h07 to shop at the Intermarché grocery store for the final time. Like many stores in France they close for lunch between 12h30 and 14h00. We arrived, completed our shopping and were back in our apartment by 12h00. We love those quick shopping trips. Trips to the supermarket in the USA usually take a long time, but they do have more choices in the stores. We can make do with fewer choices.

After lunch we spent some time on the harbor. A construction company had used fencing to fence in many huge bags of sand and a cement mixer. All of the benches close to the edge of the harbor were within the fencing so people can no longer sit near the edge. We heard sirens approaching and watched as three fire department rescue vehicles sped in front of us towards the mole or breakwater. Apparently someone fell over the edge of the wall. High tide was in 3 hours so we hoped the huge rocks below the wall were covered with water.

We did see a small cargo ship unloading in the basin.

cargo ship unloading in the basin

Next we saw the ship Belem come into the harbor and sail right into the ecluse or lock. We waited for it to come through into the basin. It is a very pretty ship and moored just outside Porte Saint-Louis.

BELEM

Tuesday September 19, 2017 – le mardi 19 septembre 2017

Cloudy, cool, and windy today! Sandy shops for our breakfast at the Cathedral Boulangerie since our usual boulangerie is closed today. It is always a visually and aromatic delight to walk into this boulangerie. It is owned by two young men, pierced nose, lips, etc, but they make fabulous breads, viennoiserie, and pastries.

On her way back to our apartment she greeted our hairdresser, the poissonnier (fish seller), and waves at Monsieur Alix at the marché. Already it is a wonderful day to be up and out in Saint-Malo.

We took the bus to a stop near the hospital and walked up the hill to the Secours Catholic (Catholic Charities). They operate a small clothing and household goods store and we had some clothing to donate. Sandy also saves the 1 and 2 centime coins each year when we’re in France and we gave them a sandwich zip-lock bag full of coins. Our walk took us past our friend Alain’s residence, so we took a quick picture.

the gate at Alain’s residence

Next we walked to Saint-Servan to visit the butcher at the marché. He was on vacation for 2 weeks and this was his first day back. The building is being remodeled and his designated spot is under construction. There was a sign on the wall saying he was located near the poissonnerie area. We found him with a long line as usual but he had less refrigerated case space and we noticed a smaller amount for sale.

We walked back to the Intra-Muros and enjoyed a coffee at Charley’s Bar. Around 2 pm our friend Alain stopped by to say hi. He told us he was playing boules this afternoon and we watched for over an hour. When the sun was out, the day was nice and warm, but when clouds came by, it felt cold.

Wednesday September 20, 2017 – le mercredi 20 septembre 2017

We took the bus to the La Madeleine center to buy a replacement fluorescent circular light ring for our bedroom ceiling light. The Carrefour Hypermarche did not carry that style so we went to Kandella, a lighting store. We purchased paper towels and some caramel sauce to eat with apples while we were out. The sun was brilliant, warm and there was a light breeze.

After lunch, the clouds rolled in and even though the temperature was 19C / 67F, it was cool. We tried to buy Phil’s last prescriptions at our usual pharmacy. All non-prescription items were 50% off since they are closing October 14 for good. They didn’t have the medicine and aren’t ordering any more.

We tried the pharmacy across from the Cathédral but it needed to be ordered. We will pick it up tomorrow.

Our friend Denise called from Paris in the evening. We sent a birthday package to her at the end of August because her birthday was September 2. She just received the package earlier today. It wasn’t much of a gift, just a remembrance for her to know we thought about her on her birthday. We were glad she received it.

Thursday September 21, 2017 – le jeudi 21 septembre 2017

Our final week in Saint-Malo. Today we mailed a package to our friend Jean in Paris, had a coffee, and arrived back at our apartment before it rained. Sandy is organizing our remaining food so we finish everything that might spoil before we return next spring. We also have to finish all refrigerated food because we turn the refrigerator off for the winter.

Friday September 22, 2017 – vendredi 22 septembre 2017

Bright and sunny but cool when Sandy shops for our baguette. Normally Friday is our tutoring day with Christine. She changed the day to Monday because she is having some painting done and there are very strong odors in her house. She was aware of Sandy’s allergies and postponed our session until Monday.

We took a walk from our apartment to the north end of the digue and back. It was a wonderful day outside with a high temperature of 66F / 19C and little wind. The tide was very far out and we could see rock formations and small islands that were new to us.

low tide

When Sandy washed the lettuce to make a salad for dinner, Phil had to remove two snails for her. She doesn’t mind mud on the lettuce after a rainstorm, but she can’t stand the snails. They were tossed out the kitchen window into a hedge.

Saturday September 23, 2017 – le samedi 23 septembre 2017

Sandy could tell as she walked to the boulangerie that the Brittany Ferry had recently arrived. There were several groups of British tourists walking through the street with their luggage. She also passed 4 English girls trying to use their phone to navigate, but the walls often interrupt signals and it is difficult to find your way through the streets. When she entered the boulangerie there were 2 English men looking at the patisserie case and talking to each other about what to order. They were in front of Sandy and should have been waited on first. However, the boulangère saw Sandy, quickly moved over to her, said “Bonjour madam”, and took her order. It is important to be well-known at the boulangerie to insure the wonderful quality of food and to be waited on quickly.

After breakfast we took the bus to the Paramé Mairie bus stop to go to the Paramé marché. We needed to buy a piece of pork roast for dinner. We told the butcher this was our final shopping trip, wished he and his assistant a good winter, and returned to our apartment. We have not found any meat in the USA that even comes close to the flavor of meat we find in France.

Around 2 pm we took the bus to the Gare for the annual Braderie de la Saint-Michel with around 220 stall holders. It was quite entertaining, a gorgeous sunny day, but we didn’t buy anything. After an hour and a half we headed back to our apartment.

Sunday September 24, 2017 – le dimanche 24 septembre 2017

It was very quiet and calm when Sandy bought our breakfast. She was the only customer in La Fournee Malouin boulangerie at 9h40. It was sprinkling as she walked back to our apartment.

We walked towards the Gare to go to the second day of the braderie. It was less crowded at 11h00 but it was cloudy and the forecast was for light rain after noon. We saw the general in his “security” clothing. He also had not made any purchases at the braderie. After looking around for an hour, we took the bus back to Intra-Muros.

the crowd at the Braderie de la Saint-Michel

Sandy spent a couple of hours organizing and packing one piece of our luggage. She also put away the decorative items we enjoy in the kitchen when we are here.